How StackOnSale verifies and ranks software deals
Our verification labels, evidence standards and transparent organic ranking formula.
Verified means checked, not guaranteed
StackOnSale shows a verified label only after the system or an administrator records a successful check. The label includes freshness because software pricing can change quickly. It does not guarantee that every visitor qualifies or that a vendor will keep an offer open.
What we check
The basic check confirms that the landing page is reachable. Human review should confirm product identity, plan, current price, reference price, coupon instructions, geography, expiry and important restrictions. Deals without enough evidence remain unverified.
How Deal Score works
Organic ranking combines discount or value, freshness, verification confidence, user success versus failure reports and publisher reputation. The weights are stable and published on our ranking page. Payment never adds points.
Sponsored means separate
A sponsored placement can purchase visibility in a clearly labeled area. It cannot change organic Deal Score or move a deal above another deal inside organic results.
User reports affect freshness
Expired and not-working reports lower confidence and trigger rechecking. Reports are signals, not automatic proof. Abuse controls and moderation prevent one report from silently deleting a legitimate offer.
Why demo deals are disabled
During development we use illustrative records to test layouts and edge cases. They are labeled DEMO, excluded from indexing, marked unverified and cannot send visitors to an outbound offer.
Questions
Can an affiliate pay for a higher organic rank?
No. Sponsored inventory is displayed separately and never changes Deal Score.
How often should deals be rechecked?
Higher-traffic and expiring offers should be checked more often. Older checks receive a lower freshness component automatically.
Related offers
Search, saved offers and price alerts need JavaScript.